- Prior month 52.6
- ISM Manufacturing PMI 52.4 vs 51.8 estimate
DETAILS:
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Manufacturing PMI®: 52.4 vs 52.6 last month
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New Orders: 55.8 vs 57.1 last month
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Production: 53.5 vs 55.9 last month
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Employment: 48.8 vs 48.1 last month
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Supplier Deliveries: 55.1 vs 54.4 last month
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Inventories: 48.8 vs 47.6 last month
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Customers’ Inventories: 38.8 vs 38.7 last month
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Prices Paid: 70.5 vs 59.0 last month
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Backlog of Orders: 56.6 vs 51.6 last month
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New Export Orders: 50.3 vs 50.2 last month
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Imports: 54.9 vs 50.0 last month
Summary:
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7 components were above the 50 expansion level, signaling growth:
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Manufacturing PMI®
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New Orders
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Production
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Supplier Deliveries
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Prices
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Backlog of Orders
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Imports
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3 components were below 50, indicating contraction:
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Employment
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Inventories
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Customers’ Inventories
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8 components increased vs last month:
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Employment
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Supplier Deliveries
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Inventories
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Customers’ Inventories
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Prices
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Backlog of Orders
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New Export Orders
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Imports
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3 components declined vs last month:
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Manufacturing PMI®
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New Orders
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Production
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Takeaway:
The ISM details show manufacturing activity still expanding overall (majority above 50), but forward-looking demand components softened, while price pressures reaccelerated sharply. The combination points to slower growth momentum alongside renewed inflation pressures — a mix that could keep policy expectations cautious and markets sensitive to incoming inflation data.
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What are respondents saying:
“Today, American produced commodities like steel and aluminum are the highest priced in the world, by far. Hence, the Section 232 tariff policy is having the exact opposite effect of their intention on an American manufacturer like us: It is raising prices while lowering demand and profitability.” [Transportation Equipment]
“Economic activity seems to be also challenging for this year. Some recovery in certain sectors in the economy but still lot of cost pressures and soft demand. Cost discipline is the priority.” [Chemical Products]
“January sales continued to provide positive indications for growth opportunities. Data center, health care, and food and beverages remain positive growth areas. We continue to receive price increase notifications from suppliers based on unsupported tariff claims and are expanding corporate staff to support sales growth.” [Chemical Products]
“South American instability has begun to be a factor for our suppliers and inventory management.” [Petroleum & Coal Products]
“Pricing for outside purchases has stabilized. We are spending significant effort to work with our supply base to mitigate tariff impacts. Backlog is at a healthy level.” [Miscellaneous Manufacturing]
“Overall orders and supply footprint are improving. As we review customer demand, we are also taking several categories of established materials and supplies out to RFP for review and cost improvements — in particular, printed circuit assemblies, plastics, sheet metal assemblies and motorized assemblies. This will help ease the burden of tariff and customer impacts as we broaden our supplier base to a more regional footprint.” [Computer & Electronic Products]
“Continue to be impacted by tariffs. Seeing metals prices rise too. Business is steady, but domestic growth is slower than expected.” [Computer & Electronic Products]
“Business was slow in January. Many orders pulled into end of 2025 to meet revenue goals. Order book is strong going forward.” [Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components]
“Tariff policy changes affect total acquisition costs and purchasing source decisions. So far this year, tariff instability still exists. Due to the tariffs, most raw materials used in manufacturing, such as steel and wire, need to be sourced domestically, and the cost keeps going up.” [Machinery]
“Business is improving by the week. Backlog is growing, and new opportunities are everywhere. Monthly shipments are still lower than planned, but improving. Over the past five years, we spent thousands trying to attract new employees and had almost zero responses. In the last six months, however, we’ve been able to hire experienced engineers, computer numerical control (CNC) operators, and young people wanting to become CNC machinists.” [Fabricated Metal Products]
